


House/Home

by jupiter_james



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff and Smut, M/M, post-ME3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-25
Updated: 2013-06-25
Packaged: 2017-12-16 04:29:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/857798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jupiter_james/pseuds/jupiter_james
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaidan moves in. Shepard hates his cat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	House/Home

"Move in with me." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Shepard hated how harsh they sounded. Like an order. He flinched.

But Kaidan grinned widely. "Here? Together?" He gestured around the sprawling Vancouver apartment.

"Yeah," Shepard said, pursing his lips like he'd eaten something sour. Why couldn't he get himself to sound more romantic? Or at least more friendly.

Kaidan chuckled. "Don't sound so happy about it. Are you sure? I mean, don't get me wrong. That's the best thing anyone's ever said to me, but it's kind of a big step."

Shepard took a breath and allowed his mouth to tip up a bit. Well, it hadn't been a total failure. "I'm sure. If you haven't already noticed, I'm not the most... romantic person. I can't make some grand gesture, but I want this. I want you here. With me."

Kaidan lowered himself onto the sofa and propped his ankle up on his knee. "I don't need you to be romantic, Shepard. That's my area, anyway. Moving in is a big change, you know? And I'd like nothing more than to have something - _someone_ \- to come home to every day."

Shepard marveled at the man beside him. The right words never came easy to him, but Kaidan always knew how to read between the lines. When they first met, he thought the man was too soft. Too emotional. But that wasn't it at all. Kaidan just knew how to gauge people and how to get to the heart of what they were trying to say. Always knew the message behind the actions. It put Shepard at ease to know Kaidan understood his fumbling.

"I'm glad you feel that way," was what he said. He stood and held his hand out. Kaidan took it and stood with him, invading his personal space. Though almost loathe to admit it, Shepard felt he was much better at communicating physically. Words would almost always fail him, but his reaction to Kaidan never would. He kissed the man now, slowly. Searching. Kaidan allowed the gentle pressure for several seconds, then asked for more with a sigh into Shepard's mouth, catching his bottom lip between his teeth, tugging. With a small push, he started them towards the stairs.

Shepard broke the contact just long enough to say, "don't let me fall."

He felt Kaidan's laugh reverberate against his own chest. "First human Spectre taken out by a flight of stairs. Yeah, that'd be embarrassing."

Clothes fell to the stairs and landing as their hands worked over scarred skin. The bedroom seemed impossibly far away. Kaidan backed Shepard against the wall near the bedroom door and slid down the length of his body, dragging lips and tongue until he was kneeling inches away from Shepard's hard-on. His hands slid up the length of Shepard's legs to tighten against his ass as his lips kissed a path to where his lover was more than ready for him.

"I can't wait to take my time with you in every room of this apartment," he said right before taking Shepard's erection into his mouth shallowly, sucking gently and rolling his tongue over and around the head until he felt Shepard's muscles shake and his knees falter. He stood in a swift motion and practically threw them both into the bedroom. "I want you now," he rasped.

Shepard crawled onto the bed, grabbed the lube from the nightstand, - never put away these days - and tossed it over his shoulder without looking. Before he could turn himself over, Kaidan was there bracing an arm against Shepard's stomach and encouraging him to his knees. Shepard's eyes drifted closed as he felt Kaidan enter him gradually. He'd never tire of the sensation. Of feeling Kaidan thrust into him at the perfect tempo. Of feeling his own response when heat rushed through his body, shutting down his mind until all that was left were those sensations breaking over him again and again. The firm pressure of Kaidan's calloused hand sliding up his spine and then back down again, fingers digging into his hip while the other hand reached around to start a counter tempo on his cock. It drove Shepard to madness, and Kaidan read and responded to him hungrily.

Shepard came first, long and almost torturously, driven out by the last few thrusts from Kaidan before he came with a string of hoarse curses.

They collapsed to the bed, spent and sleepy. Shepard stripped the messed comforter from the bed and gathered Kaidan under the thin sheet as quickly as his heavy limbs would let him move. He wanted dearly to fall asleep while still in this perfect haze. Kaidan obliged, yawning and maneuvering himself against Shepard's back. His weight and warmth lulled him to sleep almost immediately.

 

* * *

 

It was well past midmorning when Kaidan was alerted to Shepard's awakening by a startled shout of, "what the _fuck_?!" from upstairs.

He stopped in the doorway. Shepard glared up at him from the bed. "What the hell is this?" he demanded, inclining his head towards the furry striped monstrosity that was pinning his chest down.

"A hostage situation, by the looks of it."

"Seriously?"

"It's a cat, Shepard."

"I know _that_. I've... seen pictures."

"Don't worry, sir," Kaidan said dryly. "They can be reasoned with."

Shepard stared at the overfed thing for a long moment. It stared straight back. "Fine. Cat. My name is Admiral John Shepard. Alliance Navy. First human Spectre. Move."

The cat yawned, licked its nose, and jumped off the bed. "Wow," Kaidan said, humor making his voice huskier than usual. "That was amazing. I've never seen such hero-worship before."

Shepard pushed up onto his elbows. "Did I leave the front door open last night or something? Are we collecting strays?"

Kaidan crossed his arms. "Love me, love my cat, Shepard."

Worried, Shepard sat up completely and leaned forward towards Kaidan. "Are you... one of _those_ people?" he asked in a low voice.

"Sorry?"

"You know. One of those people who treat animals like children?"

Kaidan raised a hand to stop him. "That's enough, you damn hypocrite. May I remind you that your hamster eats better than the rest of the Normandy's crew?"

He mulled that statement over for a moment. He shook his head with a disgusted noise. "Fine. Just keep it out of my way, all right? Cats are... unnerving. I never understood the appeal."

"You would if you had grown up here on Earth."

"Doubt it. I'll tolerate it for your sake, Kaidan. I agreed to take you and everything that goes with you."

Kaidan rolled his eyes. "Thank you for your love and support. Now get up. I've got a lot of shit to put away."

The damn cat was everywhere Shepard turned, staring at him from its chosen perch. Not allowing the interloper in his and Kaidan's life out of his sight. But also - thankfully - not getting close enough to be touched, either. Several times throughout the day unpacking, Kaidan caught Shepard muttering, "stealthy motherfucker."

After dinner they sat together on the sofa, Kaidan watching the news on the large screen over the cold fireplace, and Shepard staring down the cat as it reclined regally on the hearth directly in front of him.

"What's its name?"

"You finally want to know?"

"I need to know the identity of my assassin," he said in a distracted voice, not breaking eye contact with the animal. "Why does it just stare at me like that?"

Kaidan grinned. "He's trying to feel you out. I think he realizes you don't like him."

"Huh," came the vague reply.

"His name is John."

That turned Shepard's attention to Kaidan instantly. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

Kaidan laughed and raised his arms in a placating gesture. "He was already named John when I got him! I saw him at the shelter last time I visited my parents on the farm. I dunno... I'm a bleeding heart, okay? He looked so sad and has those blue eyes... then I read his name on the tag. It was fate."

Shepard tried his best to look annoyed, but couldn't bring himself to because this was exactly what he loved about Kaidan. The man was sentimental where he couldn't be. He envied Kaidan his openness. "I get it," he said. "But I'm not feeding it or cleaning it or anything."

Kaidan shrugged then put and arm around Shepard's shoulders. "No problem. I'll do it, and when we're away, it's all automated. It'll be great."

Shepard turned his head back to the cat doubtfully. "You have a big name, animal. Live up to it."

 

* * *

 

Kaidan fancied it almost inevitable that his cat ended up being a turncoat. Maybe it liked a challenge just as much as Shepard. Shepard never showed open affection to the cat, but as the weeks and months passed, the pair of them developed quite the routine. John slept only at the foot of the bed on Shepard's side. He refused to move until his master was up. Kaidan watched every morning from his pillow as the cat made figure eights around Shepard's ankles while he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and deftly stepped around the skittering paws to use the bathroom and then go down to make coffee. It followed him back and forth across the apartment as Shepard dressed, only allowing Kaidan to pay attention to him when the other man was out the door.

True to his word, Shepard never fed or cleaned up after the cat, or even admitted to liking him. But even so, after one of his tours of duty, he returned home complaining to Kaidan that he had started having trouble sleeping properly on starships. He blamed it firmly on getting older, but Kaidan was fairly certain that Shepard was as miserable as the cat was when they were apart.

Then one day, their household finally reached an official end to hostilities. Kaidan arrived home hours later than planned after a month long tour, thanks to a January snowstorm. He found Shepard sitting on the sofa with a fire going as the only light, feet kicked up on the coffee table and a blanket over his legs. The cat was curled up like a boiled shrimp on his thighs. His attention was focused completely on the data pad he was holding, but his other hand absently stroked John's head.

Kaidan joined them on the sofa. "Hey," he said.

Shepard smiled at him, setting aside the data pad as quietly as possible so as not disturb the cat. "Welcome home," he answered.

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick thing that popped into my head this morning.


End file.
